How do you encourage your children to play outside? Tell Persil for a chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

A new global study of 12,000 parents reveals children are spending on average less than an hour outdoors per day - and in the UK specifically 1 in 5 children never play outdoors.

In response to this, Persil is launching the Dirt is Good campaign, encouraging children to spend more time playing outdoors.

Here’s what Persil has to say: “We believe that children need plenty of outdoor play because climbing trees, building dens and just being in nature are essential for their learning and healthy development. That’s why we say that #dirtisgood. However, parents have told us that it’s getting more difficult to find time and places for their kids to play. So, in partnership with parents, educators, and other leading child development experts, we want to investigate ways to help children play and explore more so that they can learn and develop to their full potential.”

Persil wants to hear your top tips for encouraging your children to get out and play. Do you feel they have fewer opportunities to play than you did? What are the main obstacles to outside play and how do you overcome them? What, if anything, would you like to help you facilitate outdoor play for your children?

Everyone who adds a comment to this thread will be entered in to a prize draw where one winner will receive a £200 Love2shop voucher.

Thanks & good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

I just open the door!!! First hint of sunshine and they're begging to be let out!! We live in Northern Ireland so when the sun is (which is not often!!!) we are out - with dog and cat in tow

If it's not cold then the back door is open all the time and the kids don't need an excuse. Their favourite things to play with are the sand and water table and an old gym trampette that they happily bounce away on all day.

My children have always loved the outdoors, My youngest who is 22 months loves being outside, We have always been out from day one and I got him involved with feeding the ducks, Playing outside in the parks and his new fun thing to do when its raining is jumping in puddles :)

Now the evenings are now lighter we are out a lot later, We have been going on evening walks and Bike rides.

To be honest all weathers we are out as my son loves the outdoors.

My eldest is 13 and has Autism so gets quite obsessed with his games console at the moment but he started gaining weight from not getting out and I explained to him it was because he was not being active so now he comes out with us when we do the bike rides and evening walks and then just plays his games console when he gets in from school for an hour or so.

Being out in the fresh air is so important for children and adults and the plus is they will sleep so well too.

cycling is a good way to get the children outside its fun and healthy.We go off road on the local cycle paths.

My 2 don't need much encouragement luckily - if one of them wants to go out the other will follow! My tip though is to get out there and play with them, they love it!

Join in the fun with them and this should encourage them

I open the door. Just wish we had more space or a tree or 2 to climb in. I fantasise about owning a small woodland!

Using the Eye Spy books with checklists for birds, wildlife etc, they love to tick them off!

My DDs love the outdoors! It's the quickest way to get them to put their shoes on! My eldest DD loves nothing more than picking flowers and making her little 'garden stews' just as I did as a child We're lucky to have a nice garden with a trampoline and a few other basic outdoor toys for my DDs. However, I have also made a point of finding out where all the local playparks are, so that I can offer lots of variety of park equipment which we visit on a rotation so they never get bored!

We try to get out & go for a walk, however short, every day. My little one is at nursery during the week, so has lots of outdoor time there which he enjoys immensely, especially as they have a mud kitchen at nursery!! In the evenings, we go out for a walk, which usually turns into a race (everything has to be a competition!) or a game of hide & seek. I've been trying to do a bit more in the garden lately & get my son involved with this - turns out he's very keen, especially on the digging bit! We have a trampoline which is great for getting some fresh air & some exercise. Now the weather is getting warmer, it's getting him back in again that will be the problem! :)

Going to the woods and climbing trees is always great fun. Building dens and having picnics adds to the excitement!

Get them doing a variety outdoors and get them from a young age to learn how fun and how much they can learn from being outdoors. You could give them tasks to let them find certain things on the way to school, get them to plant fruit and veg, help them to wash the car, get them to try and find certain ducks, birds and insects when they go to the park or country park, get them to have a go at map reading and do orienteering games. Easter time they could do egg hunt in the garden, you could also do games where they have to find certain things in the garden. You can do short tennis, badminton, mini golf, soft ball in the park and could play swing ball in the garden. There's so much fun they can do outdoors but it's about getting them interested. They need a variety to be involved in and believe that it's better than indoor stuff they can do.

Mine love playing outdoors so it's harder to keep them in.
I keep lots of toys in the garden for them to play with.

I tell my monkey that she can get as dirty as she wants, that is why we have a washing machine. I also let her load the machine and put the tab in too, she loves it! Hopefully she will still love doing it when she is a teen!

Teach them all the games we used to play as a kid. Football and a skipping rope usually does the trip, though.

Go outside with them :-)

My three have always loved being out in the summer, but not so much in the winter. As others have said, the right clothes are very important, and try to make it interesting for them. We became members of National Trust and English Heritage (we alternate) and this means they get to explore lots of new places very cheaply.

I just really need to open the door, but making the outdoors fun and letting them get messy is always handy to making them want to go outside

Yep, another that just needs to open the door - get them out from a young age, I would recommend. Take them on walks with you as early as possible, near beautiful lakes and parks. Make it something they've simply grown up with!

we have a huge willow tree at the end of our garden and we have some rope over one of the branches so they jump from the garden wall and have their own tree rope swing of sorts which never fails to get them outside.

I seemed to live outside as a child and have been disappointed that my girls are not very keen. (It's partly that I grew up in a cul-de-sac with lots of young families around. We have always lived on main roads and no near neighbours with children) I just tried to do things outside as much as possible and so it led to them being outside more. Lots of picnics, always eat outside if we could. Have interesting toys outside and having a box of toys on an old curtain means it might attract their attention and then lead to then staying outside longer than they would have. The toy kitchen with pots and pans is good for outside as it doesn't matter if it rains.

I think it's important to limit computer time and encourage outdoor activities from a young age so they are exciting to children and they want to do it.

Get a dog!

tell them when they spot a dragon they can come back in.

we relate the outdoors to our little ones favourite stories - he loves finding ' characters or objects from his stories!